Apologies for the upcoming rant, but seriously, there's so many bad things about ZSS I'm really frustrated with. Perhaps someone knowledgeable and successful with her can shed some light on these particular flaws I'm encountering.
For the record, I am by no means a professional player, or anything like that in any regard. I find the most fun in casual play, which probably doesn't do me any good...
Here are the problems I'm encountering:
No reliable reach-around attack:
Up-tilt does a semi-decent job for people who dodge to Zamus' back, but it has mediocre range. If it does hit, its great, but there's nothing else that can fill that gap. Turn around forward-tilt seems the next best option, but that then leads to...
Accidental forward smashes:
Why is this move so slow? It has great range and all, yes, but that initial windup animation literally nullifies its usefulness as a quick punisher. Its even less reliable as a tool to punish opponents who roll to the rear as well. Each time I want to get a forward tilt, this move accidentally comes out, and by that time, opponents will attempt to roll behind and score a free hit, starting the chain of misery all over again. I really honestly believe Zamus is good when people are in front of her, because alot of her best moves only hit to the front.
Zamus is floaty:
She jumps too high. Its definitely not a good thing when you try to approach people. Short hops are the key (imo) to a good Zamus player, because they allow her to counter quickly with her b-air, u-air, etc. But executing a short hop is difficult; much more than most other characters. I discovered she basically jumps as high as Sheik, but she tends to float alot longer. Which leads to the next point: whenever she gets knocked up into the air, she's much much more vulnerable to people with excellent air moves / specials. Tack on the fact that she has few options to land safely (even d-air is unsafe), and it becomes an exercise in panic attacks whenever you become skyborne.
Zamus can be gimped easily:
I can't remember how many times I accidentally SD'd when I rush off the platform in an attempt to knock out an opponent. She only has 3 real options to make it back (f+b, u+b, db/df+b). df/db+b doesn't gain her much vertical distance, and f/u+b can be gimped really easily if a someone gets to the edge before you. On the flip side, however, she has probably the best gimp strategy ever by way of running off the edge and immediatly pressing u+b. At least thats good.
And finally,
Zamus is weak to projectiles:
Seriously. A good Pit / Falco / Wolf player can keep her at bay with their projectile attacks alone. The only way to fight back at times is utilizing her short hop, which is already difficult to use in a heated game. Ducking does not work, she still gets hit. She has to crawl to avoid getting hit, which is really unsafe. Her stun gun has worse range, is slow, and at times does not negate the incoming projectile.
Thats all the gripes. Again, I'm sorry for the long post and rant, but if there are any successful Zamus players out there, please, any advice would be wonderful. At this point I don't think I can continue choosing her, due to the fact that so many other characters are able to take full advantage of her weaknesses. Much thanks in advance.
For the record, I am by no means a professional player, or anything like that in any regard. I find the most fun in casual play, which probably doesn't do me any good...
Here are the problems I'm encountering:
No reliable reach-around attack:
Up-tilt does a semi-decent job for people who dodge to Zamus' back, but it has mediocre range. If it does hit, its great, but there's nothing else that can fill that gap. Turn around forward-tilt seems the next best option, but that then leads to...
Accidental forward smashes:
Why is this move so slow? It has great range and all, yes, but that initial windup animation literally nullifies its usefulness as a quick punisher. Its even less reliable as a tool to punish opponents who roll to the rear as well. Each time I want to get a forward tilt, this move accidentally comes out, and by that time, opponents will attempt to roll behind and score a free hit, starting the chain of misery all over again. I really honestly believe Zamus is good when people are in front of her, because alot of her best moves only hit to the front.
Zamus is floaty:
She jumps too high. Its definitely not a good thing when you try to approach people. Short hops are the key (imo) to a good Zamus player, because they allow her to counter quickly with her b-air, u-air, etc. But executing a short hop is difficult; much more than most other characters. I discovered she basically jumps as high as Sheik, but she tends to float alot longer. Which leads to the next point: whenever she gets knocked up into the air, she's much much more vulnerable to people with excellent air moves / specials. Tack on the fact that she has few options to land safely (even d-air is unsafe), and it becomes an exercise in panic attacks whenever you become skyborne.
Zamus can be gimped easily:
I can't remember how many times I accidentally SD'd when I rush off the platform in an attempt to knock out an opponent. She only has 3 real options to make it back (f+b, u+b, db/df+b). df/db+b doesn't gain her much vertical distance, and f/u+b can be gimped really easily if a someone gets to the edge before you. On the flip side, however, she has probably the best gimp strategy ever by way of running off the edge and immediatly pressing u+b. At least thats good.
And finally,
Zamus is weak to projectiles:
Seriously. A good Pit / Falco / Wolf player can keep her at bay with their projectile attacks alone. The only way to fight back at times is utilizing her short hop, which is already difficult to use in a heated game. Ducking does not work, she still gets hit. She has to crawl to avoid getting hit, which is really unsafe. Her stun gun has worse range, is slow, and at times does not negate the incoming projectile.
Thats all the gripes. Again, I'm sorry for the long post and rant, but if there are any successful Zamus players out there, please, any advice would be wonderful. At this point I don't think I can continue choosing her, due to the fact that so many other characters are able to take full advantage of her weaknesses. Much thanks in advance.
